Decoding Odisha’s Mandate 2024: From Naveen to Dharmendra
The first copy given by the author to our Lord Jagannath then second copy to the then Education Minister of our state Sri Prasanta Nanda one multifaceted man from odia cinema.
This land is rich, unimaginably rich. Odisha rests on minerals that power industries, nations, and empires. Yet, beside the glitter of extracted wealth stands the silence of hunger, migration, and unfinished dreams. Development rises in reports; deprivation lives in homes. This contradiction is not an accident-it is a story of power, policy, and political choices written over generations. And so, this book is born from discomfort. It comes from the unease of seeing abundance without dignity, resources without justice, and democracy without deep questioning. We live in an age where elections are reduced to numbers, narratives are manufactured, and public memory is made fragile. Politics is performed loudly, but understood very little. What shapes a mandate? Who shapes consent? Whose voices disappear between slogans?As an organic intellectual, one cannot remain a spectator. The responsibility is not to decorate reality but to disturb it, to knock on closed minds, to reopen abandoned questions, to remind society that democracy is not an event but a continuous moral struggle.
If this book unsettles, let it. If it provokes, let it. Democracies decay not from too many questions, but from too few.
This work attempts exactly that: not merely to present data, stories, statistics, strategies, or slogans but to weave them together into a mirror. This is perhaps the first effort of its kind from Odisha that looks at election studies not as a technical exercise, but as a civilizational process, linking the local to the national, and the national to the global. Elections here are not just contests of power; they are contests of memory, identity, aspiration, and control. This book may not entertain. It may not comfort. It may not appear in examinations, nor offer quick answers for competitive success. Those who seek only utility may find no use here. But those who seek understanding of democracy, of power, of society, of silence may find questions that stay longer than answers.
This work is not for the present alone. It is a small intellectual offering for generations yet to arrive, for young minds who will inherit not only a nation, but its contradictions. If it helps them think more critically, question more courageously, and see politics not as spectacle but as responsibility, its purpose is fulfilled. This journey was never solitary. More than 4,000 people women, students, veterans, political workers, thinkers, leaders, and ordinary citizens shaped these pages through conversations, arguments, disagreements, and lived experiences. Their voices, even when unnamed, are the living foundation of this work. I remain indebted to them beyond words.
This inclusive volume delves into the polieteical transformation of Odisha, tracing the journey from Naveen Patnaik’s prolonged leadership to the emergence of Dharmendra Pradhan as a significant political force. Through meticulous analysis, the author examines the factors contributing to the Biju Janata Dal’s (BJD) electeoral setbacks, including anti-incumbency sentiments, administrative challenges, and the evolving aspirations of the electgorate. The book also highlights the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) strategic inroads into the state, capitalizing on regional dynamics and national narratives. By situating Odisha’s political shifts within the broader context of Indian democracy, this work offers valuable insights into the interplay of leadership, policy, and public sentiment. Essential reading for scholars, political analysts, and anyone interested in the changing contours of regional politics in India. (IHC, Bhubaneswar)
By Vikram Kesari Jena
Vikram Kesari Jena, Ph.D., he emerges as a towering figure of intellectual and social renaissance, whose life’s work exemplifies an unwavering commitment to the upliftment of the marginalized and impoverished. As the guiding force behind the Center for Adivasi Research and Development (CARD), he has pioneered initiatives of monumental significance, including the historic World Human Science and Management Conference—a ground-breaking event unparalleled in global academic history. His Global Displacement Policy Strategy has profoundly shaped international scholarly discourse.
Other Books published on Odisha Election 2024:
“Voices and Votes: Odisha’s Electoral Renaissance 2024” Paperback Book released on 18 August 2025 by Netajee Abhinandan (Author) & Preet Bubna (Author), launched by Union Cabinet Minister Shri Dharmendra Pradhan.
The political landscape of Odisha was molded by the ideology of a single party for twenty-four years that made it an island of stability and growth. The people of Odisha reversed the course of their state’s history in the 2024 elections, bringing down a long-standing government and welcoming a new age of leadership, following a few weeks of passionate campaigning and reflective voting. Beyond being a chronicle of that election turmoil, this book takes the reader on a captivating tour of a dynamic democracy, offers profound reflections on the strength of the people’s will, and serves as a warning against the peril of unbridled authority.
Nirbachana 2024 – Odisha Rajanitire Kada Leutani by Choudhury Amitav Das
Nirbachan 2024, a book in Odia on 2024 Lok Sabha and Odisha Assembly elections in Odisha was released, here on Friday on 7 Mar, 2025, written by senior journalist Choudhry Amitav Das and published by PEN IN BOOKS, the book documents the events, rehtorics the election witnessed during the electioneering. Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, former Odisha Congress president Prasad Harichandan, and Sambad & Kanak TV editor Tanaya Patnaik spoke on the occasion. Author Das welcomed the guests and Subhransu Panda, founder of Pen In Books gave the vote of thanks. Mrutunjaya Satpathy anchored the programme.
